Albany, N.Y., January 17—State Senator Tom O’Mara (R-C, Big Flats) today welcomedGovernor Andrew Cuomo’s proposed 2012-2013 state budget for proposing additional steps toward eliminating the local share of Medicaid costs.But O’Mara plans to keep pushing for this year’s final budget to do even more to eliminate the local costs associated with the state’s $53-billion-plus Medicaid program.

“This state government is committed to long-term fiscal responsibility, tax relief and economic growth.One by one by one we’re checking off the achievements to prove it and to make it work,” said O’Mara.“Beginning a state takeover of local Medicaid costs would mark a true turnaround in the state-local partnership and a true victory for local property taxpayers.It would keep building a new system of Medicaid that’s going to be more cost effective for taxpayers, less abused and wasteful, and more efficient for patients.It took decades for this system to spiral out of control and it’s going to take some time to fix it, but we’re going to fix it.The governor’s proposal moves in the right direction on this front, but I think we can be a little bolder and do even more this year.”